Gauchos' Season Ends with 70-54 Loss to Oregon in WNIT Second Round

Eugene, Ore. -
Carolyn Ganes scored 13 points to lead five players in double figures as the University of Oregon defeated UC Santa Barbara 70-54 in the WNIT Second Round Saturday night at McArthur Court. Jenna Green scored 11 of her team-high 13 points in the second half to lead a Gaucho squad that shot just 29.7% from the field in the loss.

The Gauchos' season comes to a close at 19-14 overall, while the Ducks will advance to face the winner of the Missouri-Wyoming matchup scheduled for tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. PST. Oregon improves to 17-13 overall this season.

Green led the Gauchos in scoring for the fourth consecutive game, shaking off a rough first half in which she went just 1-of-6 from the field. The junior center was 4-for-7 after halftime and finished 5-of-13 for the game. The only player to score in double figures for Santa Barbara, Green pulled down seven rebounds, dished out two assists, and blocked a game-high three shots.

Freshman forward Jordan Franey knocked down two threes and scored nine points to go with five rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Jessica Wilson was just 2-of-7 and finished with eight points and a team-high four assists, while LaShay Fears and Whitney Warren added seven apiece. Warren led UCSB with a game-high eight rebounds, which was one off of her career best.

Ganes' 13 points came on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor and the senior forward also hauled in seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Tamika Nurse went 3-for-6, hitting all three of her shots from behind the three-point arc, and scored 11 points, while Eleanor Haring, Lilley Taylor, and Jamie Hawkins scored 10 each.

The Gauchos showed signs of fatigue from the early stages of the game, while the Ducks came out of the gates rested and fired up after a long 14-day layoff. UCSB made just one of its first 10 shots and Oregon quickly built a 10-3 lead following Nurse's first triple at the 15:10 mark. A Franey jumper cut the deficit to four, at 12-8, less than three minutes later, but Kaela Chapdelaine connected from downtown and Hawkins scored inside to push the advantage back to nine (17-8) with 9:56 remaining in the opening half.

The Ducks would hit 4-of-8 three-point shots in the game.

Franey then responded with a triple of her own, but Oregon answered with nine straight points to take their biggest lead of the half, 26-11, after Taylor scored, was fouled, and converted the free-throw with 5:44 remaining. UCSB trailed by that same margin, 32-17 at the break.

Santa Barbara was a woeful 6-for-32, 19%, from the floor in the first 20 minutes with 10 turnovers, while Oregon converted half of their 24 shots, 50%.

The Gauchos were much better in the second half offensively, scoring 37 points on 13-for-32 shooting, but could do little to slow down the Ducks' offense, allowing 38.

Oregon scored seven of the first 10 points after halftime as the lead reached 19 (39-20) 2:35 into the period. Santa Barbara then got back-to-back tip-ins from Wilson and Green, but a 12-5 Duck run over the next 3:08 capped off by Hawkins' jumper extended the lead to 51-29.

The Gauchos would get no closer than 16 points the final 13:29 and went on to fall by the 70-54 final margin.

Oregon finished 28-of-56 from the floor, an impressively sharp 50% performance, considering the team's last game was March 3. The Ducks out-rebounded the Gauchos 45-35 and held a 30-22 advantage in points in the paint. UCSB made just 19-of-64 shots overall, and was 5-of-19, 26%, from three-point range.

Santa Barbara turned the ball over a total of 16 teams, while Oregon gave it away 21 times. The Ducks got 27 points off the bench compared to just 14 for the Gauchos.